Tow Weight of a F-150

Allworth wrote:
He isn't talking about towing in the Blue Ridge.

Having spent a lot of time between Utah/Colorado and Yellow Knife, I say without hesitation that that is not enough truck.

Again. Snarkyness not withstanding. How do you know. You don't know what he has. It very well may have 2500lbs of payload. Making it a better choice than many 2500s with lower payloads. Plus he has a turbo. So he won't lose power up high.

BTW. Having towed thru the Rocky Mountains. They aren't that tough. No tougher than HWY 80 to Linville. Easier in fact.

tegu69 wrote:

Rjdreyer wrote:
Easy answer is no. 1/2 ton will not make it with a fifth wheel across WV and the CO rockies

Not true. A good friend of mine has similar numbers on fw towed by his F150 eb. When he was looking at fw's I told him to stick with the smaller X-lite with 1 slide. He ended up with 3 slide High Country. I made the trip with him to Ca, where I turned around and went back to Fl. He continued on up to Wa, then back into Co, east through WV and finally back to Fl. No problems. I was amazed the way the truck handled the trip. He does have the max tow package and I think the 373 rear. The point is, there is no easy blanket answer.

I agree the F150 EB, with the Max Tow is a fairly capable TV. It gets the big mirrors, the 3.73, and an extra 500# GVWR.

It may have been over ratings, with the 3-slide High Country, but would work for the FW that the OP is considering.

I also have to agree with Spud (above), that most of the F250s, with the diesel engine, are carrying FWs, that are putting the TV over the GVWR.

Jerry

Rjdreyer wrote:
Easy answer is no. 1/2 ton will not make it with a fifth wheel across WV and the CO rockies

Not true. A good friend of mine has similar numbers on fw towed by his F150 eb. When he was looking at fw's I told him to stick with the smaller X-lite with 1 slide. He ended up with 3 slide High Country. I made the trip with him to Ca, where I turned around and went back to Fl. He continued on up to Wa, then back into Co, east through WV and finally back to Fl. No problems. I was amazed the way the truck handled the trip. He does have the max tow package and I think the 373 rear. The point is, there is no easy blanket answer.

wecamp04 wrote:

The Lefthander wrote:
The "Dry" Weight of the trailer is 7,669 lbs. and the hitch weight is 1321. According to the Specs. for the truck, the maximum towing capacity is 9500 lbs.

With the dry weights once you add all your stuff your going to be right at max for your truck orjust over I would say,can your truck do it probably .I went through this when we first started out,your truck will get tired very quickly.I Upgraded to F250 diesel best thing I ever did big difference good luck

All due respect, an F250 with a diesel probably doesn't have anymore payload (exceed GVWR) than a properly equipped 1/2 ton which would be around 2000lbs.

Their are probably more 3/4 ton diesels pulling 5th wheels that are over their GVWR than those under.

I agree with above. Most 1/2 ton pickup trucks have springs comparable to those on a Crown Victoria. The maximum tow suspensions are available, but expensive. Most are special ordered.

A 1/2 ton truck will tow a heavier travel trailer than a fifth wheel trailer due to their having 10-12% of the trailer weight on the bumper vs. 20-23% of the trailer weight in the middle of the pickup box.

The only 1/2 ton truck that approaches the weight carrying capability of a 3/4 ton truck is the 2015 (aluminum) Ford F150 with the maximum tow package. They're substantially beefier than any of the competitive 1/2 ton trucks.

SkiSmuggs wrote:
..............I ran the safety check list from the web site and the only number I execeed was the GAWR by 510 lbs. I did what Ford did and added overload springs and HD shocks. Doesn't change the sticker numbers at all, but made perfect sense to me.

"Exceeded GAWR by 510 lbs". Unless you upgraded the tires you overloaded them too, and, apart from not being a very good idea, is also ticketable offense!

Dakota98 wrote:
I was looking at the web site that SkiSmuggs listed for Fifth Wheel Street.

Fifth Wheel Street

And it stated in fine print "Any F150 less than GVWR of 7850 should never be considered for towing any kind of fifth wheel trailer."

OP best check GVWR of his truck.

And from the same article:
"As evident in the picture (left), we at FWS have determined that for typical RV use, most half-ton trucks do not meet the load requirements for the weight of these trailers. The GVWR and the GAWR will most likely be overloaded, and some driving conditions may be unsafe, even with the lightest fifth wheel RVs touted for half-ton trucks.

However, we have discovered one truck brand that may tow fifth wheel trailers up to 11,712 pounds and not exceed the ratings. That truck is the 2015 Ford F150 with the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost. The configuration that meets this requirement follows: 3.73 gear ratio, 4X2, 163.7" wheel base, SuperCab. With two passengers, the loaded vehicle weight is 5,388 pounds. The GCWR = 17,100 and the GVWR = 7,850. Especially for any half-ton truck, weigh it fully loaded without any trailer attatched and use RV Tow Check 2.0 to calculate the realistic tow capacity."

I ran the safety check list from the web site and the only number I execeed was the GAWR by 510 lbs. I did what Ford did and added overload springs and HD shocks. Doesn't change the sticker numbers at all, but made perfect sense to me.

Rjdreyer wrote:
Easy answer is no. 1/2 ton will not make it with a fifth wheel across WV and the CO rockies

The easy answer is not always the right one. My F150 has pulled 9500 lbs of fifth wheel up and down the mountains of VT, NH, CO and WY without issue, and we are talking some serious mountain climbing in Wyoming. No over heating, no brake fade and no regrets.

I was looking at the web site that SkiSmuggs listed for Fifth Wheel Street.

Fifth Wheel Street

And it stated in fine print "Any F150 less than GVWR of 7850 should never be considered for towing any kind of fifth wheel trailer."

OP best check GVWR of his truck.

The Lefthander wrote:
I have a 2014 Ford F-150, V6 EcoBoost, 3.55 Axle, and 157' Wheelbase. I am considering buying a 5th Wheel trailer with a total weight of 8600 lbs. I plan to take this trailer to the mountains of Utah/Arizona. Is my F-150 sufficient to carry this weight comfortably. I would appreciate if anyone has a similar truck could provide me some guidance.

The "Dry" Weight of the trailer is 7,669 lbs. and the hitch weight is 1321. According to the Specs. for the truck, the maximum towing capacity is 9500 lbs.

The problem is that a fifth wheel has about 20% of it's total weight on the hitch pin, while a travel trailer has only about 10% of it's total weight on the hitch. So you are much better off towing a travel trailer, than a fifth wheel, unless you get a 1 ton single rear wheel truck.

Even then, the cargo rating of a SRW F-350 is limited to about 3,500 pounds, so a 10,000 pound trailer with a 2,000 pound hitch weight, 200 pound hitch, 350 pounds of passengers, and other things might add up to 2,700 pounds or so. Then fill the forward 80 gallon (640 pound) fresh water tank, and the 'ready for camping' hitch weight will go way up, say to 2,500 pounds. . .

You stated that you have a 3.55:1 rear axle ratio. This limits towing, so does not having the "Max Tow Package" that included the 3.73:1 rear axle ratio, and a optional 7,800 pound GVWR. Your GVWR is probably less than 7,800 pounds (some F-150's come with a 6,600 GVWR and therefore can carry about 1,200 pounds less than one with the Max Tow package).

Check your drivers door sticker. Post the GVWR, front and rear GAWR. It will help figure out what you can tow with that truck, as equipped.

My sister bought one of the F-150's with a Max Tow package. I think they can carry about 2,500 pounds before reaching the GVWR.

Good luck!

Fred.